December Mist
by UnforgivenJayy
Summary: The constant burning, the never ending anger. Why her? After Reyna was doomed for a tragic death at the end of a pistol she meets a handsome yet mysterious boy who teaches her some things are meant forever.
1. Murky Memories and a Chance of Blood

I don't have a very strong memory of before. Every memory seems murky and not all there. Trying to remember is as if trying to watch a movie looking through a crack in a closed door. You may have a good idea of what has happened, but you can't be one hundred percent sure of what's really there.

I remember the idea of blankness I felt and the dread that came with every waking moment. I was unhappy, like every other angsty teenager, but there was a numbness to it that couldn't be explained in just human vocabulary. I was bored, hurt, and most of all fed up with my species, the masochistic hypocrites they all were. Then afterward guilt would overindulge itself in my emotions because to them it was I who had a problem and it was my mother who would flatly tell me that I was the one who had to get my act together.

I was out for a walk like I would every other night; it was my way of cooling down and thinking things over in a rational manner. My headphones were in, blocking out all outer noise on the barren street as I strolled past a broken streetlight. The dark didn't scare me, but more comforted me in ways it should not have. The light, cool winter breeze picked up my hair in a gentle embrace and I felt at peace as my body swelled in the moon's light. I picked up my pace as the cold bitterly nibbled at my ears and tip of my nose.

The crackle of broken glass under my boots was unusual, but I had paid no mind to it as the direction I looked was strictly forward. What seemed like an unexplainable burst of wind pushed against my face and I had instinctively drew to a halt, placing the ball of my right foot firmly and quite painfully to the ground. After looking around for any cause of the matter, I gave up and continued to walk back down the sidewalk not far my home.

Someone's car alarm went off and I picked up my pace in fear my mother would be furious by the time I had gotten back to the house due to my being late. It seemed as though all that went on around here somehow ended up my fault anyway, I smirked at my snotty inner dialogue. I stopped almost instantly at the sight of one of the newer homes being robbed, a black and large looking van parked in the back yard of one of the larger lots. My headphones fell out and I attempted to run a couple feet ahead before I was able to be caught and used to be held for ransom.

Multiple angry voices yelled at each other in what seemed hushed tones coming from another dark car, this one parked a little ways down the street. From my observation it seemed to be missing its plates. I froze near the curb as I noticed the voices were then silent. I bolted down the other street, tears unconsciously falling down my cheeks as I prayed the shady figures hadn't noticed me and that I was just overreacting to things as usual. I had almost made it to hide out in what was left of the woods at the end of the street before the strange car's tires screeched against the pavement as it angrily went after me. Two men nearly threw themselves out of the car and ran in my direction, their large muscled arms with obvious pulsating veins had made mine appear like useless, lanky sausages.

I couldn't give up; I wouldn't allow myself the option. One's voice let out a low snarl, the other yelling for my return. "Come here you… hip... pathetic girl! Look at you! You run like a … hip … drunk!" One mocked with his words so heavily slurred I was surprised he could even carry his own body weight. They continued to walk deeper into the brush of what used to be something more than an empty, poorly kept lot. I hid behind a thickly trunked tree, trying my best not to scream and blow my hiding place.

"If you do not show yourself…" the drunk began before losing his trail of thought. I shuddered at his nauseating gurgle of a voice and pleaded in my head he would pass out before I would have to do something unbelievably stupid. He stumbled around a bit and I pushed my back even closer to the tree's trunk, wincing at the pain of a nub stabbing itself in my back.

"There you ar-gsh…" his excited tone went to slosh as he continually flung around his gun like a baton. I knew I must have looked like a wild eyed baby deer. "You bettergh not run off again. Or I'll shoot ya!" He threatened, the stolen pistol's barrel brushed against his cheek as he thought in what appeared to be a hollow head. I couldn't take the pain anymore and let my left leg slip out from under me, causing my butt to fall harshly on an over grown tree root.

I winced before I felt the real deal of it all. Once my leg had moved, the bastard shot me in the chest. I was a little impressed though, a man that heavily drunk with a good aim would be considered a god out in the backwoods, but of course the only thing I wanted to do to him was shoot him in return. But of course only life didn't work that way. "What did you do?!" Another man's voice, this one unfamiliar and seemed like the leader yelled at the blubbering, drunken idiot.

"I told the little shit to … hipp … to stop her movin' or I'd … heep … shoot 'er!"? He yelled, baffled at the man's concern.

"Yeah, and we need the money!" Another, my guess the beefy arms guy, joined.

"Not with her dead you do!" The leader hissed. They fell silent to his words. Idiots.

"Then whatta' we do?" the drunk stammered.

"Ahh..." The leader huffed, probably amazed by their stupidity, I know I was. "Just set her near the road. We have what we need." What?! They can't just leave me here to die! Heavy car doors slammed and the tires yet again squealed against the pavement as they left.


	2. The Kiss of Death and My Damnation

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the previous one. I'll be working on the next chapter soon. So please forgive me for its length (I will make up for it next chap promise) and hopefully you enjoy!  
**

My lips parted in horror, not that I would have noticed due to no longer having feeling in them. I was in a crumpled position, one which would have resembled a large agitated wad of paper. My breathing was sharp and rigid as my lungs were fighting to keep squeezing the thin air in and out of me. My limbs felt as heavy as concrete and I could hardly move a finger without wincing in pain, let alone thinking of screaming for a desperate soul to help a half dead girl lying on the side of the road.

_So this is it. Death. I wonder what people will think when they find me here like this… _My thoughts were no help, I already considered myself dead. My fidgeting had slowed to the point I could barely fill my lungs with enough oxygen to cause my chest to rise and then fall like a normal human being. I could have been there for days and not know how long I just lied there, useless and broken. My thoughts then stopped, and I felt detached from the world. But the lack of noise was refreshing, and at that very moment, I was okay and somewhat comforted with the idea of dying.

My eyes, swollen and glossed over, stared off at the soothing blankness that consumed me… Until I caught attention of the silhouette of someone watching me far off in the distance. My subconscious woke up from its blank coma and screamed at me to haul my ass out of there, but I couldn't. I was too weak, and my only pathetic defense was looking its way with my big sad and watery eyes. _Please, make it quick._ My mind whispered.

As if he had heard my plea, he was instantly hovering over me, looking down at my bloody and paler than usual body. His eyes quickly and almost _pleasantly_? explored my body frame, as if taking in all of my appearance with one glance. He kneeled by my side, not a word escaped his pouted lips. He looked down at my blood soaked shirt, we both noticing I had my left hand desperately grasping the wet and sticky stained fabric just below my punctured chest.

I recognized him, but I couldn't figure out exactly where from. He had looked about nineteen, but his actions seemed more matured and didn't match up with his boyish face and pleased grin he obviously tried to hide. Unruly waves of dirty blonde hair framed his perfectly portioned face and his dark eyes had an indescribable and more importantly an unexplainable tint of _red_ to it.

His right hand worked its way to my neck, then gently cradling the back of my head and his fingers securely entangled in my mess of my brunette curls. The movement of my head directed me to look up at his face. All of me was still and completely unable to move or look away. His face inched closer to my face, if I could gulp I would have. His velvet lips pressed firmly against the bottom of my jaw, then brushing behind my ear, then finally down to my neck. As they parted ever so slightly, every exposed part of my skin reddened in my much more embarrassing way of a blush.

His mouth curled in a smile and a warm prickling of my skin burned against the smooth surface of his perfect teeth. My subconscious and every muscle in my body screamed at his doing, but I ached for more. My head tilted willingly at his touch and a soft chuckle emerged from deep in his throat. "Not yet." His voice of silk cooed at my impatience. I could have groaned in frustration if I had the capability.

His mouth had once again returned to its original place, just an inch below my ear on the curve of my neck. Then the unexpected had happened. I being completely lost in the moment and figuring this kind and quite familiar stranger was giving me a very nice way of me parting my ways with the world, had completely ignored the reality of it all. I just wanted to die happy, and so I thought I had. His sweet kiss had turned into a bitter memory. What I had at first mistaken for a hickey or "love bite" had taken a dark turn. His flawless smile merged itself in my jugular, both bodies tensing at the unsuspected rush of things.

He withdrew himself, his pouty face tainted with the bright red of fresh blood. He picked me up in his tight grasp, almost cradled to his chest. My eyes were wide in shock. It had felt like a pitcher of ice water had been poured down my throat, except instead of just my neck freezing in the unusual temperature it was all in my bloodstream instead. It's as if I felt every vein blast away every thick drop of plasma and instantly be replaced in thin cold water rushing at a hundred miles an hour. And the most painful part of it all wasn't holding back on my screams, or the fact that every new surge of the traumatizing cold brutally burned away all I ever was, or the way my back arched when it began to break bones to heal and perfect this once imperfect body. No, the most painful of it all had to be the things I had to give up on, against my own will. All due to the lack of a heart of a murderer, a miserable creature who had too much of a heart which burdened him forever, and a girl who was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.


	3. But It's Only the Beginning (sigh)

**Here it is as promised! I should be working on chapter 4 soon (hopefully). Enjoy!**

My mind simmered and stirred as I nearly developed wind burn on my face as my limp body and trapped soul were securely wrapped in the chiseled arms of a lunatic. My brain throbbed against my skull in a continuous beat as if it had grown a heart of its own and I wanted _so _badly to bash it against something to relive it if even for just a mere moment. My insides felt as if they were going through a rough acid wash like you would an old pair of jeans, which I then promised myself if I managed to live through such agony I shall treat my jeans much better than I ever had.

It all felt never ending and I was consistently begging whoever was able to hear me to kill me, but the blonde haired stranger just looked at me as if I were a whiny child. If I could have smacked that very grin off his face I would have and then I would put it back just to do it over and over again until he understood what it's like to feel as if you decided to take a stroll through the fiery pits of hell and be expected to just shrug it off as if it were just a mere thing. The very idea of revenge made my weak lips curl up at the ends.

I was constantly losing then gaining my sight again but I was able to make out a look of amusement and a tinge of fear on the boys face. He probably had the idea of me smiling like a madman while he sat back and watched me suffer would have to do with me imagining and planning out every minor detail to his gruesome death, to which he was exactly correct.

My body jolted upwards and another loud _SNAP _shot out of my ribs as a blood curdling scream replaced the silence in my unfamiliar surroundings. I could feel a soft and plush blanket of grass beneath my cold fingers and a strong smell of pine needles and tree sap waft about in the air. Birds chirped along happily quite a distance from the place in which I lay, but aside from that it all seemed quiet and far away. I was definitely not lying on the side of a road anymore.

I had felt my heart begin to slow, as with my lungs and very breath. My ridiculously painful headache had also begun to dissipate and I thought I was being blessed with the so sweet gift of death. My heart rate expectantly accelerated to the point I thought it may burst and I could feel the last bit of adrenaline rush and forcefully mix into the flow of the new thin, cool liquid. My heart swelled in its hard work and its beat was faster than I ever wished it to. Burning cold had flooded all its entry ways with a violent blast and I could have sworn I felt the very stuff scrape and wash out my insides until it was clean. A sound even I couldn't recognize or let alone name echoed in the empty silence.

I could hear the sound of two pairs of lungs pushing air in and out, and the squeaking of a chipmunk up in a tree about twenty yards away. I could feel the soft prickle of every blade of grass which held up my bare hands and what had once felt fragile body. My left index finger barely traced an exposed tree root from the ground and the rhythmic sound of tree sap plopping to a puddle inches from my head clamed me. I could breathe easily now, almost too easily and my thoughts were so clear and painless I could have started crying out hysterically in joy. I could move my hands without any pain at all and vividly imagine the world around me without the need of opening my eyes. The boy stood about five feet away from me, and I knew this because I could smell his strange mixed scent of cheap cologne and an almost nutty and leaf like fragrance. I didn't even know I knew the smell of many things especially the nauseating over use of axe body spray, or the smell of leaves let alone a human being. But then I had made myself listen a little closer and I realized there was no heartbeat in the strange silence between the two of us and the surrounding wilderness. There was no working heart at all but a hard dead organ in the depths of his chest.

I worriedly waited and expected my heart to thump away like it always did when I was nervous or completely petrified and if I wasn't experiencing either feeling I considered finding myself a doctor. Then at the same time I continually wondered how I could smell things I couldn't before, like leaves and heartless beings, or why I could hear the things I could. Why I desperately wanted to drink something and of why someone's throat would be so scratchy and dry. Or why I obsessively thought out every possible way I could rip off that bastard blonde guy's head.

"You do realize that I know you're awake now, right?" His voice was impatient and a little deeper than I expected. My eyes flew open and I ran at the opposite side of him in a defensive stance I had never done before, and of course my first wish and dire instinct was to end him without remembering who he was or why I wanted him to suffer so terribly. The idea just sounded _fun_. "Whoa! Okay… Remember all that I did for you?!" He cautiously backed away, attempting to save his life beginning with the most stupid excuse one could think of from the top of his head.

"All you _did_ for me?! You jackass! I don't even know your name! I was _dying_ and you freaking bit into me like I was a steak! And as if I wasn't bleeding out anyway! What's your problem?!" I foggily remembered as the words escaped my mouth. He continued to hold his hands out in front of him like he was forfeiting a game, but I refused to back down and approached him like an animal about to pounce.

"Okay, fine. I'm Devin, glad we're finally acquainted. And for your information I _saved_ your sorry ass! You should be dead on the side of that damn street right now if it weren't for me! Have you not realized that bullet wound is gone? As if it were never there in the first place?" I looked down instantly, noticing I was in different clothes and how new everything had seemed to me. I examined the dainty, porcelain hands I held in front of my face and realized how they glistened and reflected the sunlight from a single ray of sunshine peeking through the small gap in the oak tree's overhead shelter of old branches. I slowly and carefully placed my hand against the area which was once a hole in my chest and was surprised to see he was right. It was as if it were all but a traumatic nightmare.

"Wait... How did you know that? And why am I in different clothes?!" He looked blankly at me, clearly not wanting to answer to a psycho with a taste for blood.

"Am I not allowed to know your name?" He asked trying to distract my now easily distracted mind.

"It's Reyna."

"Reyna… It fits you." He smiled and immediately looked down trying to hide it and to forget what it was that he thought to himself. "Anyway, I knew that because I could no longer smell it, and I saw it for myself. Yes, okay? I changed your clothes. It's not like you could while constantly in and out of consciousness and yelling as if you were being murdered or something. Besides, we don't need the attention because you were soaked in blood, especially since…" He stopped to look back up at my face, noticing I was a little over six ways of pissed at him and had the dirtiest look on my face directed exactly at his now embarrassed smile.

"Since…? Since what?!" I demanded.

"I suppose you aren't thirsty...?" Yup, that was it. I was going to smack him.

"Just tell me what the hell you were hinting that towards?!"

"Burning throat, obsessive thinking related to violence, _thirst_, denial… Should I continue?" How did he know about that?! Agh! I could just… Find out what it is that's wrong with me, somehow manage to fix this mess, and leave headed back for home level headed. I can do that…

"Why, do you know what's wrong with me? And how did I heal that fast? Did you take me to a doctor? How long have I been out?!" He rolled his eyes; my guess is he thought I was being ridiculous. Really he should be worrying when I'm _not_ being ridiculous, because I most often am.

Then I wondered what his blood would taste like, and disturbingly enough I was questioning if I should find out in my own way. "Sorry, I shouldn't have been so insensitive." If looks could kill he would have been a goner ages ago for still keeping information from me. "It wasn't that bad though." He noted with a smug look on his face.

"What wasn't that bad?" He winked at me then ran off as if vanishing in thin air. Perfect. Just perfect. I'm left in that dark and have to figure it all out for myself, which may take forever. Typical.


	4. Just Stay Clear From Firecrackers, Okay?

**(Has been re-edited for me noticing my mistakes after I had finished it. Sorry about that).**

**Hey guys! Sorry I took so long for this chapter, I've been having a lot of homework and projects to do lately and it may take a little while for the next chapter after this (unless I plan to write that after I write this one…) I make no promises, but keep your eye out for chapter five!**

I was frustrated and tired of Devin constantly giving me empty answers, I wanted to look for him but it was as if he disappeared. I took a deep breath hoping that it would calm my nerves, the strange yet lovely smell of him still lingered in the place he once stood and I followed it as if he had left a trail specifically for me to find. I unconsciously raced through the woods at an unexplainable speed and had easily avoided trees and things that would have been the death of me before.

I stopped myself, still surrounded by the unfamiliar terrain. Devin's scent had stopped near a tree, this time with no trace of him left to trace. Irritation flooded through me like a waterfall. Does he seriously want me to leave him alone?! Or does he just enjoy me become even more irritated? I paced around the big solid oak, wondering what to do. I was in a terribly bad mood for Devin to be playing around. My throat burned and felt as if it had turned into sandpaper and I had no idea how I could stop it.

A delicious scent blew in my face from the faint breeze and I whimpered in delight. What is _that_?! My attention went fully to the scent and it was then as if nothing else had mattered at that point. My thoughts shut off and I started into a run as I continued to search for the source. On a bench near the sidewalk, a man in about his early fifties had a newspaper stretched out in front of his face, a small coffee stain on his tie. His hair was salt and peppered, messily left in the way I supposed it had looked while he was asleep and was thinning near the crown. One shoe was tied neatly as the other shoe's lace was hanging on to the other in a limp hold. The old wood creaked as he shifted his weight against its old structure. His smell had radiated off of him as if in waves, and I could almost feel his strong pulse against my lips. I stopped in the alleyway a couple feet away from a little book store, and my eyes went directly towards the pulsating vein in his exposed neck.

Blood. I ached and impatiently desired the warm, thick blood that flowed through him to douse my thirst which had then exploded in a fiery pain I wished to soothe. This is what Devin was talking about; this was why I couldn't be kept in those clothes that were drenched in my own blood. I would have gone crazy. And how terrifying would it be to be courted by a crimson addicted creature that was covered in blood already? They would wonder if it was their previous victims… Not knowing that it would have been mine.

I shook the thought. I was too involved now and there was no way I'd be able to just walk away while burning like this. I ran too fast to be seen, like what I had experienced from Devin earlier. Maybe that's why he left me alone… to figure this out for myself and he left in a way I would be able to catch on to and use myself. I snatched the man before he had time to realize he wasn't sitting in the rickety old bench and ran back into the safety of the shadows in the alleyway. He was kneeling in front of me on both knees, his old grey eyes large in fear. Before his old cracked lips were able to part I demanded he stay silent in a harsh whisper. Surprisingly he did, and I quickly and desperately bit into the large vein that had caught my attention no more than slight seconds prior.

I had suckled and gulped greedily as if I had been starved and I felt as though I had been. His body sagged weakly and all of his weight began to fall into me as I continually drained him as dry as my throat had once been. I could feel my lips attempt to soak up the remaining blood on my lips, though I knew it wasn't possible.

A quick shift in the air made me realize I was no longer standing alone next the now cold and lifeless cadaver. Devin with his boyish and happy expression looked like a proud father and suddenly all the anger in me had resurfaced. "Why did you leave me?!" I spat, not noticing how little and helpless I had sounded at the time.

"You know why. Besides, how would you have reacted if I straight up told you 'Oh, hey. You're now a blood sucking demon now. Hungry?' You would have ripped my head off!" he had a point there… "Though I can see you won't need many practice runs, huh." I tilted my head to the sound of question in his voice.

"I guess…" I muttered in agreement. "But why do you seem so surprised?"

"Not many newborns know exactly what they're doing, especially at their first hunt. They tend to be a bit… awkward? They also don't have much "table manners" either. But you get better at it as time goes, which we have plenty of." His voice was humored by my some sort of impressive instinct with certain things.

"So what are we going to do with…?" I looked down at the body slumped on the ground.

"Oh, that's easy. Here, I'll show you what I do." He threw the body over his shoulder with ease and headed back towards the woods. I followed at his side and continued with what I figured to be annoying him. And to my confusion, he looked as though he _liked_ answering all of my questions. "What I find really interesting is how you managed to keep him quiet, most people scream or even breathe weird. But he was dead silent! How did you _do_ that?!"

I gave it some thought, trying to remember what it was that I had done but nothing seemed strange as I continued to talk to Devin. Aside from killing someone, that was a little new to me. And as much as I hated admitting it because they were innocent, they had done nothing wrong but yet I still _enjoyed_ it. Just the way it felt and tasted was more pleasure than I had ever expected to experience and I wanted more. Devin and I approached an old building which appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. He hopped in through what had used to be a large window that was then just another hole of many in the walls.

He and I had continued talking, he was then explaining to me how we had to keep our kind from being conspicuous, and so we had to cover our tracks in the variety of ways. One he used often was to dispose of a body left without a single drop of blood left. His favorite was by leaving no body traces left, so he would usually burn them in a desolate building or really any area hidden from human eyes and disintegrate them to nothing. Then once he was done with using the place, he would burn it down too. It was obvious to tell he took the saying "you can never be too careful" to heart, and I could tell in his kind eyes he hoped that I would too.

He poured gasoline everywhere and demanded I get out and wait outside for him. I did ask I was asked, sort of, and waited sitting up in a tree about a yard away with a view of the large field and barren building. About two minutes later he appeared on the sturdy branch next to me, our attention lost to the building now ablaze. "Sorry about that. We're kinda flammable." I looked at him with an obviously confused look on my face. "Venom." He said. "It's a long story. Just stay clear from firecrackers, okay?" I rolled my eyes and the building crumbling before us had caught my attention again.

"Is it weird to think that I kind of expected something like this to happen to me?" my words filled the silence between us, the tension making me uncomfortable.

"No. I think the same for me too." He was looking at me then and ignored the sounds of the old roof falling into the ceiling. I wished I knew what it was that made him look so frustrated and why it seemed like he was keeping something to himself. I turned my head to look over at him and immediately felt my face collide with his. His kiss was passionate and angry. I sat there frozen for about point zero two seconds and then pushed him away from me, ignoring my crazy strength. He plummeted from the tree to the ground seven feet below us and I was tempted to throw him in the fire. Guilt rushed over me for thinking it, but I didn't know why. _He saved you, _my heart demanded. _He turned you into this damned thing!, _my brain yelled. _But he's helping you,_ my heart screamed. Even though I felt like I could demolish a bomb shelter with just my left hand, my mind was exhausted. Then I wondered (and hoped) sleep was possible for the eternally damned.


	5. Vampires Are Meant to Last Forever

**I'm alive! Having so many snow days has caused me to get my act together and write chapter five, hope you guys like it! **

I jumped down from the tree limb, my mind wanting an explanation for his action. Was I giving the wrong signals, or was he just stupid? "Why…?!" Though we were standing about ten feet away from each other we talked as if the distance was considered normal. He shrugged jokingly as if he were just messing around.

"Did I ever tell you one of the main reasons why vampires create newborns in the first place?" he acted as though I were being ridiculous, which I was.

"No! Why does that even have to do with it?!" I was obviously still angry, an emotion I was ninety nine point nine percent of the time. But what person wouldn't hate the world with so much information thrown at them at once?

"Vampires are meant to last forever. A lot of things can happen over long periods of time, including death of everything. Even our own kind."

"So…?" I felt as though he was leaving out the most important part of what he was trying to say. He was that kind of person who wanted you to decipher what he was saying to prove you pay attention. That's one thing I somewhat miss about him.

"So, vampires are quite lonesome beings. Some get tired of being alone so they go off to find potential partners."

"Vampires go _partner hunting_? Are you serious?! Let me guess, they stalk people the same they do when hunting for blood, except instead of sucking them dry they just turn them? That's beyond creepy!" I paused for a minute, the idea finally clicked. "Did you do that to me?!"

"What? No! You were just lucky, right time right place sort of deal. Though, if I did do it properly I would have chosen someone who didn't whine so much."

"Ugh! You're unbelievable! And a complete stranger! You don't know me, and to me you're just some weirdo who bit the throat of a supposed to be homicide victim. That's why you were shoved out of the damn tree! And stop acting like I owe you, I'd rather be dead and at peace instead of wanting to rip everyone's heads off all the time!"

"You're whining again."

"Why do you even care at all?! Leave me alone!" I stormed off at human speed, so angry I preferred taking my time to prove a point. I never asked for this. He kept up with me, leaving me even more upset.

"Wait! I can't just leave you alone. Though I bet you want me to, right?"  
"Absolutely."  
"Then can you at least wait until you have a more sturdy sense of self-control?" I turned at looked at him dead in the eye.  
"Oh, please explain my lack of self-control? Clearly if I had no sense of self-control your head would be on a stick!"

"It's just a law! It's not just another snarky comment by yours truly, I promise. The Volturi are kinda strict about newborns and how obvious they are around humans. So sorry to upset you, but I like to stay on top of my newborns." I felt my eyes narrow and I shoved passed him, not as angry as before but still simmering.

"Wait, not like that!" he yelled after me. "Damn mind in the gutter all the time…" he huffed to himself. I definitely had no desire to speak to him now. "Walk as long as you want, I'm still going to be here to bug you!" he called after me. Could he get any more annoying? "Reyna?" Gah.

"Don't worry; it's not like I'm going to go feast on villagers or something. I just need a walk, alone. It's an old habit. I'll be back soon." He stopped and went to go sit in the shade of a nearby tree, which didn't really do anything since it was already dark. I continued to walk, the slowness wasn't as comforting as it used to be but more of an annoyance since I knew I could run about three hundred times as fast in a matter of seconds, but what was the point of that? A farther distance? I made myself suck it up and walk at a human pace, complaining only in my thoughts.

With nothing to distract that part of my thoughts, my throat burned in agony once more. Luckily I was so far out in the woods I couldn't smell any humans, only a nearby doe, some birds, and family of squirrels. I couldn't control it anymore and I went after the doe. I made it quick, not wanting to make her death a miserable one due to my curse of nature. With my belly full, my guilt made me nauseous and I placed her body in a nearby patch of wildflowers. It still saddened me, but it was better than leaving her in the dirt. I knew what it was like being left to die in a terrible place.

As I made my way back, I was mad at myself for being so harsh to Devin. It sucked having so many emotions at once, as if I didn't think enough as a human! I made my way passed a nearby creek, its water shimmering in the moon's light. My reflection was startling, maybe because I haven't seen it since the dark foggy memories of my mortal life. My skin was smooth, a couple shades paler than before but I was no longer translucent. My cheek bones were higher, my lips fuller. My body even seemed smaller? My nails had grown out to a rounded point, surprising since I kept them bloody nubs in the past. My hair and eyelashes were now naturally full at a shade of light chocolate brown, but the one thing I was definitely not used to would have to be the bright red irises glaring at me in surprise in the rippling water.

I was a stranger looking at my own reflection. My fingers ran over the deepened dimples in my cheeks and two tears ran down my face. Every part of me was no longer me, I didn't know who I was or what I stood for, like I knew before anyway. I felt a hand gently pull my hair off my neck and behind my ear. I turned in shock to see Devin give me a sad smile. I leaned into him and weakly sighed.

"It's okay," he reassured, "I'm still trying to figure these things out myself."


	6. You Can be a Real Asshat Sometimes

**Alas! Here's chapter six. I figured I'd try to make it up to you guys since my last one took weeks until I wrote it. Enjoy!**

After my mental breakdown, I promised myself to give him another chance. Why? Maybe it was the guilty conscience constantly reminding me that he saved me from the unknown and with it all he wanted was someone to talk to without expecting to be beheaded afterward. I caught on that he wasn't exactly the nicest guy, but his sense of sarcasm had definitely made up for it.

It could have been weeks or months and I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. Everywhere we went seemed to be covered in trees and shrubs; the small and damp excuse for a trail was littered with brittle leaves and pine cones. The musky air had definitely proven that we were nowhere near what had once been my home. "Where are we exactly?" I blurted in the nearly silent and cool morning air. Blades of grass grazed against my bare ankles, leaving behind a trail of dew.

"Somewhere in Canada, I think." Devin stated as if our location didn't matter. Though it did make sense considering how woodsy and spacious everything was, it was relaxing. I inhaled the air, completely forgetting that the only scent my nose would pick up on would possibly become my breakfast. The sky was hidden by the towering trees; it was then that I felt as though my brain had shut off.

Up in one of the trees were four people with the faint smell of sweat encouraging their aroma. The clinks of metal and equipment proved they were there recreationally and finding joy in their aching and contracting muscles. I lurched forward, only to be delayed by the strong arm of Devin keeping me back. I could have complained, but I kept quiet.

"They have too much adrenaline in their systems; they'd try to fight back."

"Doesn't that make it all the more fun?" I asked impatiently, and finding no real explanation as to why we had to wait them out. "Besides, they'll be dead anyway. So really why does it matter? Plus we're crazy fast, it's not like they could outrun us before we could, well you know." He groaned in irritation, probably realizing how ignorant I still was with the matter.

"Maybe we should keep looking." He started to walk away again, still staying close to me because he didn't trust me when I was hunger struck and around people. I don't blame him.

"Why? They all die anyway! We'll just speed it up. Why does it bother you so much anyway?"

"It's not _humane_, Reyna! Do you not hear yourself?!"

"Of course it's not humane, because we _aren't_ humans anymore! And you make it out like _I_ overreact!" Angst filled silence radiated between us. I was still unbearably hungry and so I had to make do with a moose. It wasn't as fulfilling, but it was better than upsetting Devin more than I already had. "If you think I'm being a jerk, you can just tell me instead of rant in your head you know."

He gave me a look as though he didn't want to talk about it, but I was honestly curious. Why did he care so much? "It's only been two months. I guess I just forget sometimes." He tried to leave it at that, but of course I wouldn't let him.

"What does that…? Agh, Devin you can tell me. I'll try my best not to sound too _'whiny'_ for you. I just don't get it. I mean yeah, I feel guilty all the time. Then sometimes I don't care and everything just shuts off but…"

"That's somewhat the reason. I guess I just don't like to be too unfair to those who don't deserve it. And I'm sorry about dragging you into this, it wasn't my place…" Then I kissed him. It may have been my unstable emotions or sympathy, but it just seemed like I needed to. Within the past two months, which felt like hours and eternity all at once (no pun intended), I felt like I slowly started to get to know him and understand him better. We weren't necessarily strangers anymore.

"I just have to work on things I guess… And thanks for keeping my heart in check." He looked at me as though I had lost my marbles. The dead weight in my chest wasn't what I was talking about, in a sort. "I mean 'thanks for helping me not turn into a blood obsessed creep who only cares about myself'."

"You're thanking _me_ for your lingering humanity? There's something I haven't heard before."

"Are you being sarcastic? Really?"

"I meant that in a literal sense, but I appreciate that you think I have a sense of humor." I butted my shoulder against his arm. "Your humanity is all you, cheesy sounding I know. But that's why hunting is so easy, our humanity shuts off and all we care about is the hunt. Sometimes after a while your emotions harden over time and you end up losing your humanity all together. It just depends on the person."

"But what does that have to do with me?"

"Many newborns shut it all off because they don't want to feel the guilt. You're still young, so I find it surprising."

"How old are you anyway? Jeez, you talk about me like I'm five and you're like eighty."

"Not very old actually, not that it matters thanks for pointing that out." I looked at him in a pout, clearly wanting a _real_ answer. "I was sixteen in '99. Everything after that you can figure out in just a guess."

"So you're about thirty, right? Isn't that kind of gross considering I was turned at fifteen two months ago?" He huffed at my question, apparently it was either asked a lot or it sounded something that a kid would say.

"No, it doesn't work like that. Though you think it would, you know the older you get the older you like your considerable dating options." He was still trying to keep himself from laughing; I didn't find it all too funny. "Really because we're considerably 'frozen' at the time we're fully turned, our mind and likings somewhat freeze as well. For example, the songs that still get stuck in my head are all by Nirvana or something embarrassing like Destiny's Child."

I couldn't help the giggle that slipped. "Wait a minute; you listened to Destiny's Child?"

"Everyone did, it's just that not many _admitted_ it. But it was obvious when you'd hear guys walking through the hallways humming _Say My Name_."

"Yeah, I could definitely say you're stuck at sixteen."

"I take it as a compliment, besides I remember being terrified of growing up. Now I never have to."

"Nice compromise." I replied, "Nothing like giving up having to become a responsible human being to just become dependent on the lives of others. That seems perfectly fair."

"Now do you understand what I was saying earlier? I hate it as much as the next guy, but it's either that or practically starve. Sure, you may still roam the earth for eternity, but you have no way of defending yourself from attackers due to you becoming weak and the uncomfortable burn one would like to call thirst, but hey whatever you prefer."

"Are we just going to do this forever?" I asked him.

"Do what? Walk? Nah, I like to change it up a little once it gets boring…"

"No, not walking. I mean the way we bicker like old people. It may get old after a while."

"I guess we'll find out. Besides, I like when you get mad. Your eyes scrunch up, it's funny."

"Oh, you're the type of person who makes people mad because he finds it funny and has absolutely _nothing_ better to do in his free time?"

"You could say that."

"Devin?"

"Yeah?"

"You can be a real asshat sometimes."

"Thanks, I live for it."


End file.
